DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “terminal connected to the thermostat housing with (by) the rivet” recited in claims 1 and 8 must be shown. No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claim 3 is objected to because of the following informalities: an ungrammatical clause is present: “a solid a [sic] right polygonal prism”. Appropriate correction is required.
Applicant’s cooperation is hereby requested in correcting of any remaining problems and informalities of which Applicant may become aware in the claims.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1-9, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2, 080, 556 to Bolesky in view of CN 1909303 to Zhu Dexiang (hereafter “Zhu”, cite din IDS).
Regarding claim 1, Bolesky discloses a thermostat (Figs. 1-8) comprising a thermostat housing (1, 2), a rivet hole (26) provided in through the thermostat housing, a rivet (8) disposed in the rivet hole, and a terminal (6) connected to the thermostat housing with the rivet; wherein the shape of the rivet hole is polygonal a right polygonal prism-shaped opening through the housing (col. 3, l. 67 to col. 4, l. 3); wherein the rivet comprises a rivet head and a rivet shaft (Figs. 7, 8); wherein, in an uninstalled condition, the rivet shaft is a right polygonal prism sized to closely fit the rivet hole (col. 3, l. 67 to col. 4, l. 3).
Bolesky does not disclose that the material of the thermostat housing is one of ceramic or phenolic plastic; and wherein the terminal is a multi-layer metal construction.
Regarding claim 8, Bolesky discloses high-current thermostat comprising (Figs. 1-8): a thermostat housing (1, 2) made from an electrically insulating and thermally insulating material (see “mica”, col. 2, ll. 8-9); a rivet hole (26) in the thermostat housing comprising a right octagonal prism-shaped opening through the housing (col. 3, l. 67 to col. 4, l. 3); a rivet (8) comprising a head and a shaft (Figs. 7, 8); wherein, in an uninstalled condition, the rivet shaft comprises a solid octagonal prism sized to closely fit the rivet hole, the rivet shaft being disposed in the rivet hole conformed to the size and octagonal shape of the rivet hole (col. 3, l. 67 to col. 4, l. 3); a terminal (6) connected to the thermostat housing by the rivet.
Bolesky does not disclose that the rivet is a brass rivet and that the terminal comprises a multi-layered metal structure including at least two metal layers, wherein a first metal layer comprises steel and a second metal layer comprises copper.
Regarding the claimed materials of the housing and rivet, since all claimed materials have been notoriously known in related arts before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of the ordinary skill in related arts before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have selected nay suitable known materials for making of said rivet and housing of Bolesky, including as claimed, in order to achieve desired mechanical, electrical, and thermal characteristics of the thermostat, while not exceeding its targeted production costs, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. See In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
Furthermore, Zhu discloses (Figs, 1-3) a terminal (1) comprising a multi-layered metal structure including at least two metal layers (2, 3, 5, 6), wherein a first metal layer (2) comprises steel and a second metal layer (3) comprises copper for improved mechanical strength and electrical conductivity (see English Abstract of record).
It would have been obvious to a person of the ordinary skill in related arts before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have implemented electrical terminals in the thermostat of Bolesky as multi-layered metal structures having at least two metal layers, wherein a first metal layer comprises steel and a second metal layer comprises copper, as taught by Zhu, in order to predictably provide terminals with improved mechanical strength and electrical conductivity (see English Abstract of record of Bolesky). Also, all claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined / modified the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination / modification would have yielded predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. See KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S.___, 82 USPQ2d 1385 (2007).
Also, alternatively, since enclosures (housings) have been notoriously known in related arts before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of the ordinary skill in related arts before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have provided an enclosure (housing) for the thermostat of Bolesky that would enclose the components of the thermostat, thus providing protection from the environment and enhancing safety, as an obvious design choice. All claimed elements were known in the prior art and one skilled in the art could have combined / modified the elements as claimed by known methods with no change in their respective functions, and the combination / modification would have yielded predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. See KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S.___, 82 USPQ2d 1385 (2007).
Regarding claims 2 and 3, Bolesky discloses that the shape of the rivet hole (26) is a right octagonal prism-shaped opening through the housing (1, 2), wherein the rivet (8) shaft is a solid right polygonal prism (col. 3, l. 67 to col. 4, l. 3).
Regarding claim 4, Bolesky discloses that the terminal (6) is bent into a preset angle X, wherein 0º X<180º (Figs. 1, 5-7).
Regarding claims 5 and 6, Bolesky as modified by Zhu (references to Zhu) discloses (Figs. 1-3) that the terminal (1) is a two-layer metal construction; and wherein a first layer (2) of the two-layer metal construction comprises steel; and wherein a second layer of the two-layer metal construction comprises copper (see English Abstract of record).
Regarding claims 7 and 9, Bolesky as modified by Zhu (references to Zhu) discloses (Figs. 1-3) that the terminal (1) comprises a three-layer metal construction (layers (2-6)) having a first outer metal layer (3), a second outer metal layer (3) and a third metal layer (2) disposed between the first outer metal layer and the second outer metal layer; wherein both the first outer metal layer and the second outer metal layer comprise steel and the third metal layer comprises copper (see English Abstract of record).
Conclusion
The additional prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to Applicant's disclosure, because of the teachings of various thermostats and thermally actuated electrical switches. Furter, the US 6559752 and US 4646051 teach thermally actuated electrical switches comprising electrical terminals and/or contacts mounted with rivets.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Anatoly Vortman whose telephone number is (571)272-2047. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday, between 10 am and 8:30 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jayprakash N. Gandhi can be reached at 571-272-3740. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Anatoly Vortman/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2835